*Taps mic* .. is this thing on?

It’s been almost five years since last updating this blog, and over six years since earning a nonprofit management certificate. I’m excited to write that in a couple of weeks I’ll be returning to the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs to take part in the 2024-25 Mid-career MPA Cohort.

If all goes as planned, I will complete that master’s degree one year from now at the end of Summer 2025. This grad school journey that started near the beginning of my 40s should reach its conclusion before I turn 50.

I’m not 100% sure yet if I’ll use this blog the same way this time around. Last time, the majority of what I posted were long outlines summarizing readings. That was a helpful study aide, but also a really time consuming process. This time I’m hoping to strike a greater overall balance between value and effort, in which I hope to use this space more for summary and observation.

The world has changed a lot in the past six years, and I’ve evolved too. I’m still working in the nonprofit sector, now as a software consultant to many organizations instead of the IT manager responsible for all the systems inside one org. My work is now fully remote, aside from a couple times yearly when our team meets up in Chicago.

I’ve gained some perspective on lifelong learning. Learnings from my previous grad school experience have informed my professional approach in so many ways, and I’ve come to understand that education doesn’t fade .. it marinates, shapes your responses, and crystalizes as you learn new habits applying that knowledge to all manner of situations.

Last time around, school was a juggling act with work and parenting a preschooler. This time around it’s parenting a 4th grader and a kindergartener. My older kid talks about wanting to go to the U of MN someday, and I’m really looking forward to finding opportunities to bring her to campus and show her around.

My return to grad school in the Fall of 2024 coincides with the 30th anniversary of moving into the freshman dorms in the Fall of 1994. My UMN email address is likely older than some of my classmates will be. Weird.

I’m excited to be on campus attending a public affairs school during one of the most consequential elections of my lifetime.

I’m nervous for the workload, but I feel prepared for it and up to the challenge. Hopefully that holds up through the coming semester.

I’ll write more here soon.